LitReading - Classic Short Stories

Mankind has always loved to explore sometimes crossing great wildernesses, but more often just poking around in our own backyards. This light-hearted tale is about a group of men who decide to investigate a local cave and literally stumble across a huge surprise.Stephen Crane was born years after the US Civil War ended, but is best known for his stirring 1895 Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Crane was also a prolific writer of short stories, many of which ranged from actual war stories to the more personal battles of people against the wilderness or themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Note from Don: Listening back to this story before posting it, I have to say that it moved me more than most – and I spent a few days reading, narrating, and editing it."The Rocking Horse Winner" entered the public domain at the beginning of 2022 and is considered one of the all-time best stories. It’s about a young boy’s dysfunctional relationship with his parents, under stress for living well beyond their means.Like most great short stories, The Rocking Horse winner has it's roots in the author's own childhood. His well-educated mother expressed similar frustrations with Lawrence’s blue collar father. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this podcast, the theme of self-sacrifice and admiration for the wealthy is explored through Oscar Wilde's short story. The story follows Huey Erskine's pursuit of wealth to be with his love, featuring discussions on a beggar model, an act of charity, and the surprising wedding present received by Huey.

For much of human existence we have questioned the concept of time. Is it always a constant or can it be manipulated, allowing us to move forward or backward chronologically. In this 19th century story, two cousins speculate about the age of their aunt whom they visited regularly, until they discovered the secrets of her old clock.In 1881, several years before H.G. Wells even started writing his classic, “The Time Machine,” newspaper editor Edward Page Mitchell published his time travel story anonymously in his newspaper “The New York Sun.” Considered to be the true father of science fiction, Mitchell had penned stories about traveling father that light (1874), artificial intelligence and cryogenics (1879). Look for more stories from this lesser known sci-fi master in future episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a short story. Instead, we need your help to make this podcast more popular and self-supporting. Thanks for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can an almost perfectly planned crime be solved? That question is answered in this classic mystery by one of the early 20th Century's most popular, fictional medical detectives, Dr. Thorndyke.Sandwiched between the Sherlock Holmes mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the whodunnits of Agatha Christie are R. Austin Freeman's "whocatchums." Freeman pioneered the concept of the inverted detective story, in which the whole crime is explained before the investigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unlike Christmas stories Thanksgiving stories are sparse. To celebrate the season, here is the tale of a proper New England celebration combined with a classic love story.The 19th century novels and stories of Edward Payson Roe were very popular in their day. Being a Presbyterian minister, his works had a religious and moral foundation. One of his greatest criticism were the sermonly characteristics of his stories which may explain their wide acceptance during the Victorian age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somewhere there’s a great story for almost every holiday, even the decidedly American tradition of Thanksgiving and who better to tell such a story than one of America’s finest authors, O. Henry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Joyce’s “Araby” is ranked among the pantheon of greatest short stories ever written. In this timeless coming of age tale an adolescent boy, blinded by a hormonal fog, falls for a neighbor girl.Now considered one of the classics of literature, the 1914 collection of short stories, Dubliners, of which “Araby” was an early part was an initial failure selling less than 400 copies. Of those almost a third were purchased Joyce himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A sick young woman is saved by a final kind gesture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices